Cate Bros. is the third studio album by the Fayetteville musicians the Cate Brothers, released in 1975 by Asylum Records. It spawned the hit "Union Man", which peaked at number 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart the week of February 7, 1976. and is the highest-charting single they released.
Reception
Bruce Eder of AllMusic notes that "the record does equal ["Time for Us"] and then some, alternately bursting out with some amazingly funky white soul and haunting balladry in equal measures", believing that "There's not a weak point on the record", highlighting "Can't Change My Heart", "Always Waiting" and "When Love Comes", three songs that the brothers wrote for Huey P. Meaux, closing by saying that "The rest of the record isn't far behind, and the harmonies on "Easy Way Out" are almost worth the price of admission; and the augmentation by Terry Cagle plus [Brooks] Hunnicutt, [Maxine] Willard, and [Julia] Tillman puts the latter track and "Lady Luck" over the top in the vocal department." In Rolling Stone, Bud Scoppa wrote that "You can hear the bar-band experience on every track: the Cates waste no time in getting to the point, and there are plenty of rhythmic gut-grabbers, melodic twists and witty punctuations to hold you once they've got you", adding that "None of the ten songs (all Cate collaborations) are utterly pretty or utterly throbbing; rather they're combinations of the two" and "There's not a dud on the album and the performances match the material (although the band – now a foursome with the addition of drummer/singer Cagle and bassist/singer Albert Singleton – sounds even better onstage, churning with an urgency that belies the players' poker faces", concluding by writing that "Cate Bros. is an uncomplicated, captivating album from the best Southern band to come out of the woods in 1975".
Track listing
Personnel According to the liner notes:
Ernie Cate – lead vocal, electric piano, clavinet, synthesizers Earl Cate – guitar, lead guitar (1), harmony vocals Scott Edwards – bass (1–2, 5–7, 9) King Errison – bongos (1, 6) Mike Baird – drums (1, 4–5, 7, 10) Brooks Hunnicutt – backing vocals (1, 6) Julia Tillman – backing vocals (1, 6) Maxine Willard – backing vocals (1, 6) Eddie Green – drums (2, 6, 9) Steve Cropper – guitar (2), producer Gary Coleman – percussion (2), vibraphone (3, 8), bells (8) David Foster – clavinet (3), piano (3) Klaus Voormann – bass (3–4) Levon Helm – drums (3) Terry Cagle – harmony vocals (3) Nigel Olsson – drums (8) Leland Sklar – bass (8) William "Smithy" Smith – organ (5, 8, 10)
Charts
Album Chart (1976)Peakposition
Singles "Union Man" Chart (1976)Peakposition
"Can't Change My Heart" Chart (1976)Peakposition
References